Battenfeld: Probe of fatal bus crash should be swift and transparent

Mayor Michelle Wu s independent study into the fatal bus accident in Hyde Park should be swift and totally transparent and include the city s failed oversight of the bus vendor Transdev in order to ensure Boston kids are safe getting to school The inquiry should not take until the end of Wu s reelection campaign and should rise above politics in the interest of the inhabitants and parents Wu and BPS Superintendent Mary Skipper should already be taking action to shore up their own weak oversight of Transdev And police need to without delay release the accident account which has been kept under wraps But there are signs the fix is already in the investigator a white collar defense lawyer and former federal prosecutor has donated to several far-left Democrats and works for a politically connected law firm And Wu has already determined it was the vendor s fault and not her administration There are protocols and this is a incident where it looks like the responsibilities and obligations of the vendor were not held up Wu reported last week Wu s appointment of the investigator Mintz Levin lawyer Natashia Tidwell came just a week after the Herald and several city councilors called for an outside review of the crash Why did it take Wu so long to appoint an investigator in the April accident that killed a -year-old Hyde Park boy Lens Arthur Joseph It appears that she certainly caved to political and constituents pressure because of the horrific nature of the crash and the fact that it was blowing back against her administration Tidwell is charged with reviewing existing safety policies the bus company s performance and making recommendations if more safety measures are needed The society deserves a full understanding of how this could have happened and what changes are needed Wu noted in a report But will the general really get a full understanding of the accident if the probe is focused on only Transdev and she has already absolved the School department of blame And why didn t Wu appoint someone with no ties to Boston politics Tidwell has donated to a number of left-of-center Democratic pols including Attorney General Andrea Campbell in and former Suffolk County DA Rachel Rollins Cambridge City Councilor Paul Toner and Plymouth County DA candidate Rahsaan Hall records show Tidwell has not donated campaign money to Wu But Wu s campaign has received more than from Mintz Levin lawyers and employees according to campaign finance records The Wu administration at last disclosed more detailed information about the accident and the bus driver Jean Charles in a Friday news dump and after nearly a month of silence Transdev published a comment Charles had been involved in four incidents in the last two years and hit a parked car during the day of the fatal accident but kept driving against protocol It was previously published that Charles s certificate to drive the bus had expired in and he did not try to renew it Charles resigned his position after Transdev moved to terminate him Related Articles City looks to improve response times with new South Boston ambulance center in Seaport Josh Kraft son of billionaire Patriots owner puts million of his own cash toward his bid for Boston mayor Boston Mayor Wu launches review of BPS transportation provider after bus kills child New Hampshire bans sanctuary cities and policies preventing ICE cooperation Boston City Council OKs disability pension hike for BPS guide pummeled by participant Lens Arthur was killed by a school bus in Boston after he exited the truck to return home on Monday Photo courtesy family A makeshift memorial in Hyde Park at the scene of a fatal school bus accident Matt Stone Boston Herald